Just A Memory
by Teddy R. Lupin
Summary: Howard and Maria Stark were killed when their son Tony was seventeen years of age. Thirty-four years later, Tony comes to realize some things...that life goes on, and some things will only be preserved through his memories, the good as well as the bad.


Hey, you guys-it's me again. I know. I'm annoying, aren't I? BUt as long as the stories are okay, you're cool with me, right? Haha :) Summer has made me just the slightest bit delusional.

When I first started writing this, I thought it was going to be a story about Pepper dying and Tony not being able to save her (don't worry, it is coming...lol), but then I realized that I'd been writing about Tony's parents. And we know what happens to them. So I began to think. Then I also noticed Tony was pining more for his father than anything...plus I wanted to write a story about Edwin Jarvis. And then I remembered that Father's Day is this coming Sunday, the 20th of June. So that's the inspiration for that.

I got the date of Howard and Maria's death from Iron Man, in the beginning, when they're showing the slideshow at Caesar's Palace. The date on the newsaper is the 17th, so I figured they died the day before. Just a lot of assumptions on my part.

This SORT OF goes along with Left Behind (another one of my stories), but it seriously doesn't have to. Just know that Jason is Tony and Pepper's sn, and Haley is his wife. Jason's about 25 years old. Check out Left Behind for anything else you don't understand.

Thanks, and read on-

-IRON MAN-

_**December 16, 1991**_

_**10:35 PM**_

_**New York City, NY**_

_The phone rang. Heaving myself out of my comfortable chair by the fire, I crossed the hall to answer it._

"_Tony, I've found it my responsibility to…" Obadiah had started to speak before I'd answered. I didn't know what had happened. But I could hear it in his voice…something had gone wrong._

_Had the Arc Reactor exploded?_

_Had one of Dad's other experiments gone wrong?_

"_There was too much fire…I couldn't get there in time," he continued. Suddenly, I was angry at him for keeping me waiting. "Your parents…"_

_My heart instantly turned to lead. Oh, God, Obie, just tell me what happened._

"_They're dead, Anthony," he said gently. "Something happened with the brakes…and that drunk driver…" I could just imagine him hanging his head, maybe a genuine tear falling from one of his icy blue eyes. "I'm sorry." I heard him hang up, and then the dial tone._

_I stared at the phone in my trembling hand as I coughed, even that being shaky. I sunk down onto the couch, bringing my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them._

_My parents were dead. The great Howard Stark…inventor and mastermind…gone. His steadfast wife…Maria Stark…nothing but a fading memory. I was alone. I had no other family. And I had left the party early. I hadn't stayed with them. If I had…they'd have still been alive. It was completely my fault. I brought my knees closer to my sweaty chest as I buried my head in between them. _

_I might have stayed there for hours, not caring about the time. Not able to sleep, not able to focus…_

_But I felt a hand on my shoulder…a touch I had grown accustomed to in my seventeen short years of life. And I realized…maybe I wasn't totally alone. At least not yet._

_I looked up, my bleary eyes looking up into the warm face of Edwin Jarvis…my closest living friend…almost family._

"_Edwin," I said hoarsely, pulling myself as together as I could._

"_Master Anthony," he said, his normally crisp English accent surprisingly soft. He wrapped me up in a hug and I relaxed, tears streaming down my cheeks. "Don't think for a moment that you could've made it any different."_

"_But it was my fault," I muttered, walking out of his embrace. "If I'd stayed with them until the party was over…then…"_

"_You'd have been killed too," Edwin said, his voice calm. Hell, his voice was always calm. "You cannot blame yourself for something you did not cause, Master Anthony, I trust you know that."_

"_I do know," I said quietly, wiping a cold tear from my eye. I looked out the window of the mansion, snow falling from the darkened sky. "What're we going to do, Edwin?"_

"_Sir?"_

"_I can't live here," I said, my eyes scanning the house I'd grown up in. "Too many memories. I hope you understand."_

"_I do," he said with a curt nod of the head. "But I urge you to reconsider. You're the last of the Stark family-"_

"_Don't say that!" I roared, grabbing the collar of his shirt. When I looked into his eyes, they were full of confusion and hurt. I sighed, releasing him. I sank back onto the couch._

"_I speak only the truth."_

"_And that's why it hurts," I said, noticing my father's robe hanging over a chair on the far side of the room, presumably ready for him to slip into when he came home._

_Another jolt hit my heart as I realized he wasn't coming home. He would never wear his robe again. I blinked back a tear from my eye. _

_I couldn't afford to be crying. I was the only remaining living member of the Stark family now. I had to stand up…I had to take my father's position as the CEO of Stark Industries…the company that he had built purely from his intelligence._

_But I was seventeen years old. My father hadn't known everything. He hadn't known that he was going to…die. He hadn't known that his life was to be cut short by the rogue car of a drunk driver. He hadn't told me how I was supposed to go on…alone. _

_Had he even known?_

_But I couldn't change it, as Edwin had told me. I bit my lip and looked up at the elderly man who was my only refuge. _

"_Edwin…" I said, my voice barely audible…too shaky to be understood. "How can I…" But I hadn't even known what I was going to say. What could I say? _

"_There comes a time in every man's life when he must learn how much he can take," Edwin said simply. "The world gives to you no more than what you can handle, Master Anthony."_

"_Well, it doesn't know me very well, then." I sank further into the couch, wanting it all to be over. I closed my eyes and tried to sigh, but it came out too shaky, and sounded like a saddened cough. "Because I can't take this."_

"_You have to," he answered, gripping my shoulder like he always had when I was young and in trouble. "You must. There is nobody else who can. You must carry your father's legacy."_

"_What if I don't want to?" The words had escaped my lips before I had even thought them out, and I could see the dismay and disbelief on Edwin's thin face. I didn't mean that, and we both knew it. _

"_You're grieving, Master Anthony," he said gently. "And I understand that. But it is important that you always remember who you are." I sat up and brushed messy black hair out of my eyes that resembled liquid chocolate. _

"_Edwin, do you-" I frowned to myself, surprised at how calm my voice now was. "Is there anything you can tell me about them? Anything…" I smiled, almost wistfully. "Anything that I wouldn't have known?"_

"_I know you've expressed your anger in your father towards me," Edwin said gently, placing a hand on my knee. "But you should know that there was no one he cared for more. He just didn't know…how to show it."_

_I stared at the old man, raising my eyebrows doubtfully. "Right," I said, wiping a hidden tear from my eye. "You want me to believe that."_

"_If he didn't love you, then why does it hurt?" For a moment, I was angry. But I knew he didn't mean it. Edwin Jarvis knew my brain better than anyone…and he knew exactly what I would take away from what he said. "You know he cared about you, Anthony. And you loved him back. And that's all right."_

"_None of this is all right, Edwin!" I cried, standing up. I looked back at him as I walked away. "I can't…my parents are dead. I'm still a minor. What the hell is going to happen to me?"_

_He folded his arms across his thin chest. "Your parents trusted me to take care of you in life. It is no different in death." _

_I cracked a smile. "Thank you," I said hoarsely, all the while, staring at my father's bathrobe as if he would miraculously appear beside it. Edwin clapped me on the shoulder and ruffled my hair, causing me to turn around and scowl at him. He smiled gently and left the room…and I was alone. _

_Shakily standing up, I walked over to my father's silk robe…running my fingers along the soft fabric and tracing his monogrammed initials. I carefully picked it up and slid it over my shoulders…_

_**43 Years Later...**_

_**June 20, 2034**_

_**New York City, New York**_

"So this is it," Pepper said softly, gesturing to a gravestone that held both of my parents' names. "Have you gone every year?"

I swallowed, clearing my throat nervously. "No," I admitted. "For a long time…I just wanted to forget that they ever existed. I've only started coming back recently." She smiled cautiously, gently taking my hand.

"I'm sorry, Tony," she said quietly. "I know it must be so hard."

"It is," I said, surprising even myself. "But I never understood why it hurt so much. Edwin tried to tell me…but I just never understood it."

"Whatever happened to him?" Pepper asked, frowning. When I remained silent, she didn't press me. "But you must've cared a lot about him." I gave her a sideways glance.

"What makes you think that?"

"I always thought Jarvis stood for 'Just A Really Very Intelligent System'," she said, a confused smile appearing on her face. "But to know that you named him after your former butler…"

"Gives you some insight?" I asked, my voice almost bitter.

"It tells a lot about who you were back then, Tony," she said, her voice filled with some sort of emotion that I couldn't decipher. "As much as you wanted to forget your past…you couldn't. You always remembered."

I nodded subtly, feeling a tear on my cheek. "As much as I hate to say it, Pepper…it's true. I couldn't forget my father. In everything I said…everything I did…it reminded me of him."

"What about your mother?" I lifted one shoulder for a second before it dropped down again.

"I missed her…don't get me wrong…" I put an arm around Pepper's waist and drew her to me. "But somehow it didn't hurt me as much. It didn't haunt me for as long."

"Maybe that's because there was more of your father inside of you," she said quietly, and stroked my cheek before she gave me a warm kiss.

"Maybe," I mumbled, before she rested her head on my chest, sighing.

"It's amazing. All these years…and you still surprise me." She looked up into my brown eyes, and I could see that her clear blue irises were glistening with tears.

I was about to reply, but another voice from behind me chimed in. "Thought I'd find you out here." I turned around, finding myself face to face with my eldest son. I smiled as he gave me a quick hug, but Pepper frowned.

"Did you fly all the way out here?" Jason folded his arms across his chest, frowning thoughtfully.

"Mom, it's not like it matters," he answered. "I'm an adult now."

"You flew all the way from California to New York," she said with a slight laugh. "I'm not trying to get you in trouble, Jase. I just want to know why."

My son brushed hair out of his face and gestured to the grave of my father. "I thought I should…pay my respects." He looked up and winked at me. "It is Father's Day, after all."

"So that's what's with the flowers?" For I had just noticed the bouquet, roses and others, that he held in his pale hand. He grimaced.

"Well, I didn't think a screwdriver would be appropriate to lay on a grave," he retorted, a smile returning to his thin face.

"And I'd almost hoped they were for me," I said, trying to look sad. As I knew he wouldn't, Jason didn't buy it.

"Yes, I know how much you enjoy 'smelling the flowers'," he said sarcastically, earning an eye roll (most likely something that he had inherited from Pepper). He silently bent down and laid the flowers next to the grave. Once he stood up, he turned to me, his face curious.

"What?"

"I just realized that I've never been up here," he said slowly. "At least that I can remember."

"You were. When you were really little," Pepper told him quietly.

"Really?"

"Yeah," she said, her voice sad. She avoided looking into my eyes, and I looked away awkwardly, my hands sliding into my pockets. I knew that the years between Jason's birth and the return of Obadiah Stane were still a sore topic, and what made me feel even worse was that it was my fault. "I felt guilty that you didn't know your father…and I thought…maybe if you saw some of what your family was…you would understand…eventually."

"Then how come I don't remember, Mom?" he asked, his voice questioning. "If you wanted me to understand my family…"

"I chickened out," she admitted, placing a strand of her light orange hair out of her face, like we both knew she did when she was nervous. "I planned on bringing you as you got older, but once you started to remember things…I got scared that you would get angry and run off to Malibu. So I stopped bringing you." He frowned, running his fingers through his black hair that he had inherited from me.

"Mom…you tried to forget…didn't you?" he asked. "You tried to forget that you were ever in love." She sighed quietly.

"Jason, I'm sorry if I ever made things difficult for you when you were growing up," she said, squeezing his hand gently.

"I turned out all right," he said, a smirk plastered onto his face. I couldn't help but to smile…the smirk was a reflection of my own. Even Pepper laughed, shaking her head in exasperation. I frowned, if only for a second. There was something else going on in his mind. If I hadn't been so familiar with his actions and expressions, I wouldn't have realized it.

"What else is going on, Jason?" I asked gently. And contrary to what I expected, his solemn face broke out into a wide smile. I raised my eyebrows at him expectantly. "Well?"

"I don't know exactly how to tell you this…but…" As he looked down at his shoes, I noticed that his pale face had turned a light shade of red.

"Jason, just tell us," Pepper said, smiling. "What is it?" He looked up, taking a deep breath.

"Next year at this time…this isn't just going to be your day anymore, Tony," he told me, and I could tell in his expression that he was hoping I got the hint. For a moment, I stared at him, unsure what he meant.

What's today?

But I caught sight of my father's grave again…my _father_…

Oh, shit.

As I looked back, I noticed Pepper's thoughtful frown, and before I could help myself, I grinned like an idiot. "That's great, Jase," I said, and before I knew exactly what was happening, my adult son was hugging me. It was short, but he gave me a grateful smile as he stepped away. Then Pepper gasped, and she stared at Jason and I, her eyes wide.

"Oh, my God," she said. Then she blinked, smiling. "Did Haley tell you this morning?" He nodded silently.

"I thought that I might as well tell you today," he reasoned, his deep brown irises staring at her first, and then me. "Right?"

"Looks like not wanting to keep secrets runs in the family," Pepper said, nearly snorting. I smiled wistfully. She'd never completely forgiven me for revealing that Iron Man was my alter ego. Even though it helped people…it gave people hope…it caused us so much trouble. And I knew that. I'd just refused to see it.

She gave Jason a warm, lasting hug and kissed his forehead. My hair blew in the warm, June air, and I smiled down at the grave of my parents, and for the first time, it wasn't with wistful sadness.

_Looks like Edwin was right all along_, I thought, stuffing my hands in my pockets and breathing in heavily_. Life goes on. It doesn't stop just because one person wants it to. _

I looked at Jason again, who was talking with Pepper about something or other…and seeing the two of them laughing warmed my heart. I knew that he would make an amazing father…and with a pang of sadness, I suddenly wished I had been there for him when he was younger…all the times he'd told me that he'd wished for a father.

_But that's the past…right?_

My face twisted into a small smile, as I looked down at the grave one more time before walking down the hill to join my wife and son.

_Happy Father's Day, Dad._

-IRON MAN-

Um...just always remember to review, whether you liked it or thought it was a waste of my energy and I should just stop writing already. I don't mind criticism, it's part of life. :)

Thanks (in advance, I think)-

William D. J. Watson


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